City looks to make fresh tilt at Olympics

Tom Reilly

Ron Clarke carries the Olympic flame during the 1956 opening ceremony at the MCG.

MELBOURNE is seriously considering launching a bid for the Olympic Games.

Sir Rod Eddington, chairman of the Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC), the body that would lead the bid, informed the Australian Olympic Committee in November of Melbourne's interest in hosting the Games in either 2024 or 2028.

Senior sporting officials, with the support of Premier John Brumby, are now investigating the viability and cost of bringing the event back to Victoria, which hosted the Olympics in 1956.

AOC chief John Coates confirmed that he had spoken with Sir Rod about Melbourne's interest, and said the city was well placed to host the Games because it already had so many world-class sporting facilities.

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"The MCG would have to be at the centre of the bid, it would have to be. Melbourne has most of the sporting facilities already in place. In fact, the only issue in terms of venues is that you would need to develop a new rowing and canoeing course," he said.

The city's reputation as a host of major international sporting tournaments would also rate in its favour.

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"You would certainly go out and market the fact that Melbourne has a strong history of holding successful sporting events," Mr Coates said.

A source close to the proposal said the VMEC had debated the viability of a Melbourne bid since the Beijing Games ended five months ago. "The VMEC had discussed the possibility of a Melbourne Olympic bid at board level for a few months before Sir Rod spoke with John Coates," the source told The Sunday Age.

"They have also talked with John Brumby and Major Events Minister Tim Holding and were pleased with the politicians' reaction. Both Brumby and Holding, while wanting to know about critical details like costs, were keen for VMEC to keep investigating the chances of Melbourne getting the Games and support the idea in principle It is a long way off but sometimes with these things if you don't register an interest early on then you can be overtaken by events."

Newly elected Lord Mayor Robert Doyle last night told The Sunday Age he would support a bid for the Games. "I'm very keen to see the Olympics in Melbourne; it's the best city in Australia for the staging of major events," he said.

But Mr Doyle warned that hosting an Olympics would be very costly and "the key to success in these international events is not only delivering them but leveraging economic growth and long-term jobs".

Former premier Jeff Kennett  a driving force behind the Victorian Major Events Company in its early years  said any such bid would be "irresponsible".

"Even with support from the Federal Government the Games would be too much of a burden on the Victorian economy as they have become so huge," Mr Kennett said yesterday.

"Until the nature of the Olympics changes it's just too expensive a proposition and we should concentrate on attracting other events like the football World Cup."

The Sunday Age has also learned that Melbourne may be asked to step in as emergency host of next year's Commonwealth Games if host city Delhi is unable to complete its sporting venues and other infrastructure in time.

Melburnians embraced the 2006 Commonwealth Games, but no sporting event tops an Olympics.

The city basked in the afterglow of hosting the 1956 Games, and many Melburnians were disappointed by the failed 1996 bid. "If you look over the horizon at the big events that fit naturally with Melbourne and bring world-class coverage, then the Olympics is right up there," the bid discussions insider told The Sunday Age.

Sir Rod's approach to the AOC came after Queensland Premier Anna Bligh went public in her call for Brisbane to host the Games, opening the door to a potential showdown between the two cities.

Mr Coates confirmed that Melbourne was interested in bidding for the Games of the 2020s.

"I've already spoken to both Anna Bligh and Sir Rod Eddington about Brisbane and Melbourne going for the Olympics and they've both expressed an interest in making a bid," Mr Coates said.

Under Olympic rules, national Olympic associations campaign for the Games rather than the actual host cities. Therefore it would be up to the Australian Olympic Committee to choose which city should bid as well as deciding which Olympiad they should target. Given that Sydney hosted the 2000 event, it is believed the earliest possibility of the Games returning to Australia would be in 2024, as America, Russia and France are all seen to be ahead of Australia in the current pecking order.

Domestically, although Brisbane may be seen as more deserving because it has never hosted the Games, Melbourne's record of staging successful sporting events as well as its superior transport and sporting infrastructure would go in its favour. "It may count against Melbourne that it has hosted the games before but then again London will be hosting its third games in 2012, Los Angeles has had two and other countries have hosted a number of Olympics," Mr Coates said.

With venues such as the MCG, Rod Laver Arena, Hisense Arena, Telstra Dome, the Exhibition Centre and the soon to be finished Rectangular Stadium all within a short walk of the city centre, Melbourne would be able to host nearly all events in the heart of the city, a prospect that would appeal to the International Olympic Committee.

Also given its abundance of world-class stadiums, Melbourne would be able to stage a comparatively "cheap" Games, unlike Beijing or London, which have had to build most of the venues from scratch.

Mr Coates also suggested that an athletes' village could be developed over the Jolimont railyards between Flinders Street Station, the Yarra and Richmond station. This site would be adjacent to most venues while providing much needed city centre public housing after the Games.

The timing of any bid will be largely dependent on Australia's attempt to land the soccer World Cup finals in either 2018 or 2022.

The decision on where those finals will be held is set for December next year. If Australia were to be successful in getting the 2018 football tournament it makes the prospect of bidding for the Olympics in 2024 more likely, though if it wins the tournament in 2022 then an Olympic bid would be pushed back to 2028 at the earliest, according to sporting sources.

If Australia fails to land either final it could ramp up its determination to get its Olympic bid across the line.

It is believed that a comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits of hosting a Melbourne Games will be carried out after the 2010 decision on the football World Cup.

VMEC chief executive Brendan McClements said: "Should the AOC decide it is interested in pursuing an Australian bid the VMEC would then consider the merits of such a bid."

A Brumby Government spokesperson said: "Melbourne is the sporting capital of the world, with world-class facilities and an outstanding record at hosting major events so we would expect VMEC to keep a watching brief on all future international events."